'Israel's' stay in Lebanon a mistake: Israeli media
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Maariv's military correspondent says that the IOF's stay in Lebanon will be a trap for the Israeli soldiers stationed in these positions.
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Israeli forces operate in South Lebanon, as seen from northern occupied Palestine, on February 18, 2025. (AP)
Israeli daily Maariv's military correspondent Avi Ashkenazi said that "Israel" is committing the same mistakes it committed in the past in the absence of military defense after October 7, emphasizing that "Israel is on a path toward drowning in the Lebanese swamp after 25 years of saving itself from it."
"Israel" does not have a strategy, and is operating similarly to "firefighters", with the upper echelons overwhelmed with putting out fires instead of building towards long-term steps, in the north, Gaza, and Iran, according to Ashkenazi.
He added that the Israeli Occupation Forces created two security belts in Lebanon, but it quickly became apparent that these security belts became traps for the soldiers who served in these positions, invoking the Safari incident when Lebanese Resistance fighter Amer Kalakesh killed 12 Israeli soldiers who were driving to Metulla in 1985, the Slouki disaster, and the Shayetet disaster, among many others.
Ashkenazi emphasized that "Israel" bled for 18 years in Lebanon with no real goal, and asserted that setting up outposts in the positions the IOF left 25 years ago is a mistake, as "many mothers and fathers will be crying," adding that there's no logic behind maintaining the positions in South Lebanon.
He concluded by saying that the Israeli army failed to provide a feeling of safety for the northern settlers, which can't be achieved by setting up bases in a "swamp".
'Israel' to occupy five 'strategic points' in Lebanon
The Israeli military announced that it will remain positioned at five "strategic points" inside Lebanese territory even after their withdrawal from the south on Tuesday,
Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said, "Based on the current situation, we will leave small amounts of troops deployed temporarily in five strategic points along the border in Lebanon so we can continue to defend our residents and to make sure there's no immediate threat."
Occupation forces have violated the ceasefire agreement several times, recently by setting several homes on fire in the towns of Houla and May al-Jabal on Saturday, adding to a long record of arsons and detonations of civilian homes in the Southern Lebanese villages they were occupying.
More recently, Israeli troops opened fire on 13-year-old Khadija Atwi, killing the young girl in her hometown of Houla in Southern Lebanon, and also prevented people from retrieving her lifeless body.
The Red Cross was barred from entering the town until Monday, when they recovered Atwi's body, in addition to evacuating six civilians who were trapped inside. According to her sister, the girl could have been saved had Israeli forces allowed someone to retrieve her, as her injury was not supposed to be fatal.
